WEST NORRITON — By a slim, 58-vote margin, the proposal to merge the five-location Freedom Valley YMCA with the 10-location YMCA of Philadelphia & Vicinity was approved by Freedom Vally YMCA voters on Thursday night.

There were 507 “yes” votes and 449 “no” votes according to a small notice on the Freedom Valley YMCA web site.

A total of 956 members from the Freedom Valley YMCA, which includes the Phoenixville YMCA, voted at Chadwick’s Restaurant during a two-hour evening voting period.

Earlier on Thursday, the merger plan was approved by 110 members of the Philadelphia YMCA with no one voting against it. With both member groups approving the merger it will start to be implemented on Jan. 1.

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“I feel very good about the vote,” said Jay Schaeffer, the president of the Freedom Valley YMCA. “It will be very good for the Y, the members, the community and our staff. It supports the board’s decision that felt the same way.”

Schaeffer said the closeness of the vote “shows that a lot of people have a passion for their Y.”

“It was a tremendous turnout. The voting ended at three or four minutes before 9 p.m.,” Schaeffer said. “An independent auditor, Maillie Falconiero, oversaw the voting process and the vote count. A board member, the chief financial officer of the YMCA and a member opposed to the merger also observed the voting process and count.”

The vote count was tabulated at about 9:30 p.m., Thursday, he said.

Proponents of the merger plan said it would allow the combined YMCAs to build a branch in Conshohocken, pay one national YMCA fee, tap into the larger corporate donor base of the Philadelphia YMCA and achieve cost savings with the larger organization. Fees would not be increased from the merger, members would continue using their “home” YMCA facilities and overcrowding would not be a by-product of the merger.

A YMCA handout at the voting meeting detailed the merger’s reciprocity guidelines.

“Members are expected to purchase a membership at the branch they intend to use most of the time,” the guideline said. “Usage of outdoor pools (Spring Valley, Phoenixville and Upper Perkiomen Valley) will be limited to current Freedom Valley YMCA Association members. Registration for adult physical classes will be limited to current Freedom Valley YMCA branch members. Freedom Valley members will not have access to register for free classes offered at the 10 current Philadelphia branches.”

Schaeffer said the merger would not bring any immediate changes for the membership or the community.

“Some people wanted some additional information,” he said. “For some people change is a difficult thing.”